Worst gaming weekend in months. I reach rank 3600 on Friday, tonight I'm down to 3400. Why? Cause these DUMB servers keep matching me with people who just started playing the game yesterday. They don't know the routes nor which cars to choose for events. How do I get 2 straight days of beginner players? Wow, 97% frustration, not hyperbole

The team Ranked Online games and races are absurdly difficult to get ahead in. People often, not always, drive more aggro in them as well. I commend you for trying, but don't give up on ranked altogether. Free For All is where it's at imo.

Lots of aggressive players, high rank and low rank, its just not a fun thing to deal with. I'm driving defensive more than anything. Avoiding those kinds of players but I could probably win just as much if I was overly aggressive as them. Even team players will wipe you out. Yet I also dont find it fun to win that way. I do very very well in FFA but I dont always wanna do 5 events. I really enjoy the 2 out 3 aspect of teams.

FFA always seems to me to be more aggressive. I don’t enjoy the road or street events at all in that mode as, unless you’ve got a car that’s significantly overpowered, it’s very hard to fight your way through from lower on the grid cleanly. You will invariably come across someone who will be willing to put you into a wall rather than letting you overtake them and you therefore have to be ultra cautious.

Team is a bit better as the nature of it means that there are usually a few slower drivers and you can get away from them in the first 30 seconds. That, combined with the fact most of your teammates won’t take you out, means you are usually only up against 1 or 2 higher ranked players and I tend to find the higher ranked players in team tend to cheat less. Team is therefore usually a more enjoyable experience for me.